{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/debate-on-referral-to-conference-committee-of-hr-1-stimulus-bill", "Debate on Referral to Conference Committee of HR 1 Stimulus Bill", "2009-02-10", "2009", "2009-02", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "February 10, 2009\n\nMme. Speaker:\n\nBefore we continue with a stimulus policy that has consistently failed to stimulate anything but government, I think the supporters of this program need to answer some very simple questions.\n\nFor example, the President himself told us yesterday that this $800 billion of new spending will produce up to four million new jobs. That comes to $200,000 per job.\n\nQuestion: Why don\u2019t we just send those four million lucky families a check for $100,000, and save half of what the President wants to spend \u2013 by his own numbers.\n\nThe President himself told audiences this weekend that the spending bill would produce a renaissance of highway, road and bridge construction.\n\nQuestion: If that is the objective of this bill, why are only three percent of the funds going to that purpose?\n\nThe Congressional budget office last week noted that the current spending bill, though producing temporary relief, will incur so much long term debt as to reduce overall GDP growth over the next decade.\n\nQuestion: How do we strengthen our economic future by leaving the next generation with an unprecedented debt that will take decades to pay off?\n\nWe know of many cases where massive government spending and borrowing has destroyed economies and brought down great nations \u2013 one need look no further than the old Soviet Union.\n\nQuestion: When in the recorded history of civilization has massive public spending ever \u201cstimulated\u201d an economy? It didn\u2019t work in Japan in the 1990\u2019s. The Japanese call that their \u201clost decade.\u201d It didn\u2019t work in America in the 1930\u2019s. The unemployment rate in 1939 \u2013 after nearly a decade of New Deal spending -- was the same as it was in 1931.\n\nMme. Speaker, history warns us that bankrupt nations don\u2019t last very long. I suggest that before we continue with yet another round of massive spending and borrowing, we get some answers to these inconvenient questions.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:14:21Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/debate-on-referral-to-conference-committee-of-hr-1-stimulus-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7565009873360395, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}